The Workwear Column


This is not a trend I


n the 30 years my family have been selling workwear, I have watched workwear evolve and have seen trends come and go. There, for me, have been some key milestone developments in workwear. One signifi cant change being the introduction of composite materials in footwear, reducing the weight while still providing protection to regulation standards. This changed the game for footwear for me as a retailer. I have no doubt that composite toe caps increased sales with people who would normally not wear safety footwear. There was no shortage of people who came into our store and hated wearing safety footwear due to the clumpy designs and heavy weight components.


Radical changes In later years we saw high visibility clothing change radically, becoming more like technical clothing, offering breathability and waterproofing, then slim-cut and flexible fabric work trousers hit the market. They offered much more style, freedom of movement and all-day comfort.


I remember walking into my father’s workwear store a few years after he first opened only to think that it looked more like a sports shop. The donkey jackets and safety boots with outer toe protection had gone overnight. The shop was packed with great brands, which in those days were affordable as they were workwear. Now you need to take out a second mortgage to buy some of the clothing.


In those days, people relied on workwear to keep them warm and comfortable on the job. Today, the fast-paced world of workwear means that companies have been making


| 40 | September 2022


In this month’s article, Adrian Burton of Ask Ady, takes a look at sustainability in the workwear market and what form that takes when it comes to product innovation.


This can be as simple as using recycled material. One company leading the way is Repreve. This company use plastic bottles, sorted, chipped, heated and spun into yarn. This sustainable recycled material is used by Engel to make products for its Galaxy workwear range. One pair of trousers alone can typically use 19 recycled bottles. The Galaxy range uses the Repreve fabric in a ratio of 65%, and mixed with 35% cotton to produce a flexible soft finish fabric. Patagonia is now growing hemp in Kentucky on old tobacco farms to help address the environmental pressure from the plastic and cotton industry. This natural fi bre is mixed with recycled polyester yarn and cotton to make the Patagonia workwear range. Its best-selling Tin Shed Cap also uses a recycled fi shing net to make the peak.


Items from Engel’s Galaxy range


workwear overseas and environmental issues and sustainability have not been at the forefront of their minds.


Industry shake-up


The workwear industry has recently shaken up its act to help address its environmental impact. As the world’s population grows and climate change worsens, the workwear industry’s impact on the environment has become a greater concern. The apparel industry is responsible for enormous amounts of air and water pollution, coupled with wasted energy used during the dying process alone. Sustainability is now the new trend or buzzword in the workwear and apparel industry and rightly so. Since I started my research into this subject, I was elated to see how many companies are embracing sustainability.


Sustainability statements Looking at most leading workwear brands’ websites, you can find a sustainability statement and it is optimistic to see their commitments. You, as a purchaser of workwear products, now have the chance to make the right decisions in this industry. Ask the right questions about your products, is the leather from a certified tannery that has passed auditing processes focusing on working conditions, waste and chemical management, water usage and leather traceability, how much of the materials is recycled, are the products ethically sourced? There are so many questions to ask but it all starts with small steps, don’t just go for cheap, look at the options, and make informed choices. We all need to embrace this new way of manufacturing and creating amazing products. It is everyone’s responsibility to help make the change happen. This is not a trend, but a new sustainable sensible way of producing workwear, that our planet is relying on.


www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk


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